There is no foolproof way to ensure you get great coffee every time you buy a bag. However, there are a few points to remember, starting from when you are choosing where to shop to how you store the coffee you have bought, which will increase your chances of ending up with a very good cup of coffee.
Most people buy their coffee in a supermarket but there are many reasons to avoid this practice, not least because of the freshness of the coffee on offer. However, perhaps the best reason to avoid buying coffee from a supermarket is because of the sheer pleasure to be found in buying from a specialist shop. Small shops offer the opportunity to build a relationship with someone passionate and knowledgeable about coffee. It helps when choosing if you can get some advice and even try a coffee before you buy. Dealing with someone directly means you have a better chance of buying a coffee you’ll really enjoy, especially if you let them know what you enjoyed previously.
STRENGTH GUIDES
You’ll often see a strength guide on the side of a bag of coffee, especially those on offer in supermarkets. These have nothing to do with strength, which is really about how much coffee you use to brew a cup, but more to do with the level of bitterness you can expect to find in that particular coffee. This is usually determined by the roast level of the coffee – light-roasted coffees usually have lower strength ratings and dark-roasted coffees have higher strength ratings. I would avoid coffees that come with a strength rating because, more often than not (and there are exceptions), the quality and flavour of the coffee have not been the primary concern of the producer.
TRACEABILITY
There are thousands of different coffee roasters, and hundreds of thousands of different roasts of coffee from different farms. Not all of them can be good, and variations in price and the way they are marketed can make buying fairly confusing. This book aims to explain where coffee comes from, and how and why its origin can affect its flavour. The best advice I can give is to buy as traceable a coffee as possible.
In many cases it is possible to find a coffee from one specific farm, or one cooperative. However, that level of traceability is not possible in every coffee-producing country in the world. Each of the sections on the different countries offers an idea of how traceable the coffees from that country can be. Much of Latin America is able to produce coffees that are traceable down to a particular small farm because most of the coffee there is grown on small private estates. In other countries small-scale land ownership by farmers is unusual, or the trade regulations of a country may interfere with the export process, making traceability difficult.
To keep a batch of coffee traceable throughout the entire supply chain adds cost, and this investment can only be returned if the coffee is sold for a higher price. This means it is only worth keeping high-quality coffees traceable, as doing so with low-quality lots would make them uncompetitive in the market place. In an industry plagued by ethical concerns, and dogged by an image of exploitation of the Third World, knowing exactly where a coffee comes from is a powerful piece of information. As communication technology, especially around social media, spreads and develops we’re likely to see increased interaction between those who produce the coffee and those who ultimately drink it.
The best cup of coffee begins with a well-chosen bean. Choose freshly roasted beans from a specialist shop; they should also be able to advise you about the coffee’s origins.
GOLDEN RULES FOR FRESH COFFEE
Everyone agrees fresh-roasted coffee is better, so I would make the following recommendations: 1 Buy coffee that has a clear roast date on the packaging 2 Try to buy within two weeks of roasting 3 Buy only enough coffee for a couple of weeks at a time 4 Buy whole beans and grind them yourself at home
STORING COFFEE AT HOME
Once the staling process begins, there is very little that can be done to prevent it continuing. As long as you are buying fresh coffee and using it relatively quickly the impact on your cup of coffee should be minor. However, there are ways to store coffee at home that will keep it in the best possible condition.
1 Keep the coffee airtight If the bag can be resealed, then make sure it is kept that way. If the bag can’t be completely resealed, transfer the coffee to an airtight container, such as a plastic tub with a lid or one designed specifically for storing coffee.
2 Keep the coffee in a dark place Light rapidly accelerates the staling of coffee, especially sunlight. If you keep your coffee in a clear container, place it inside a cardboard box.
3 Don’t put it in the refrigerator This is a common practice, but it does not extend the life of coffee, and you can get cross-contamination of aromas if you have something particularly fragrant in the refrigerator with the coffee.
4 Keep it dry If you can’t keep it in an airtight container, then at least avoid placing it in a humid environment.
If you need to store some coffee for a long period of time, place it in the freezer to slow down the staling process. It is important to package it in an airtight container first. When you want to use the coffee, defrost it thoroughly first, but be sure only to defrost the amount you are planning to use straight away.
Beans last longest when stored in an airtight container, in a dry, dark place.
FRESHNESS
Over the years most people have been conditioned not to think of coffee as being a fresh food product. For some it is because instant coffee is what they associate with coffee and that doesn’t really ever go stale. Coffee sold in supermarkets will often have a best-before date that is 12–24 months after the date it was roasted. This is because coffee is considered shelf stable and it is safe to consume two years after roasting, but it will taste pretty terrible at that point. It is more convenient for all involved if coffee isn’t treated like a fresh product, with the exception of the ultimate consumer.
The speciality coffee industry has failed to make a real impact because there is no strong agreement on how quickly coffee goes stale, and at what point it will have passed its best-before date.
I would recommend buying coffee that clearly shows the date of roasting on the label. Many coffee roasters now suggest that the coffee is used within a month of roasting and I would follow this advice. The coffee is at its most vibrant during the first few weeks and after this an increasingly unpleasant stale flavour begins to develop. Many specialist shops stock bags of coffee that were recently roasted and delivered, and buying online direct from the roaster usually ensures your coffee is delivered to your home within a few days of roasting.
STALING
When coffee goes stale there are two main changes occurring. The first is the slow but steady loss of aromatic compounds, the compounds that give coffee its flavour and smell. As they are volatile, these compounds slowly leach from the coffee so the older it is the less interesting it will taste.
The second change is the staling caused by oxygen and moisture. This type of staling creates new flavours, often relatively unpleasant ones. As the coffee changes it will develop a generic stale taste, and much of its original character will be lost. Stale coffees tend to taste flat, woody and vaguely of cardboard.
The darker the coffee has been roasted, the faster it will go stale. This is because the roasting process makes the coffee bean more porous, so it is easier for oxygen and moisture to penetrate and start the staling reactions.
’RESTING’ COFFEE
To further confuse the issue, it is quite common to see recommendations for ‘resting’ the coffee before brewing it. When coffee is roasted the chemical reactions that cause the beans to brown produce large volumes of carbon dioxide. Much of this gas remains trapped inside the beans, and slowly leaches out over time. The coffee will de-gas quite quickly in the first few days and then the rate will slow. Adding hot water to coffee will cause the gas to be released very quickly, which is why bubbles often form when coffee is brewing.
Espresso is a brew method that takes place under a great deal of pressure, and when there is a lot of carbon dioxide in the coffee it makes the brewing process a little more difficult and can prevent the proper extraction of flavour. Many coffee shops let the coffee de-gas for anything from five to twenty days before using it to help increase their consistency when brewing. At home, I would recommend leaving a gap of at least three to four days between roasting and brewing, but waiting too long may mean that the coffee starts to stale by the time you finish the bag. With filter-coffee brewing this is not as important, but I do think coffees taste better after two to three days than immediately after roasting.
PACKAGING COFFEE
Coffee roasters have three main choices for packaging their coffee. They will make this decision based not only on the preservation of the coffee, but also on the environmental impact, cost and look of the packaging.
UNSEALED CRAFT PACKAGING
The coffee is packed into craft paper bags with a simple greaseproof lining to prevent any leaching of the oil from the coffee. While the bag may be rolled up at the point of sale, the coffee is still exposed to oxygen and will stale quickly. Many roasters who use this kind of packaging will emphasize the importance of freshness, often suggesting the coffee be used within seven to ten days. When they retail the coffee they must be sure that the coffee on the shelves is as fresh as possible, though this can lead to some undesirable wastage. This type of packaging is sometimes recyclable and is generally considered to have the least impact on the environment.
SEALED FOIL PACKAGING
Triple-ply foil bags are sealed as soon as the coffee is packed to prevent fresh air getting in, but have a valve to allow the carbon dioxide to escape. Coffee will become stale slower inside these bags, but once opened the rate of staling will increase. While packaging like this is not currently recyclable, many speciality roasters choose this option as they consider it the best compromise in terms of cost, environmental impact and freshness.
Triple-ply foil bags are common in the speciality coffee industry as they reduce staling until the package is opened.
GAS-FLUSHED SEALED FOIL PACKAGING
This is the same as the above, with one crucial difference. During the sealing process, a machine flushes the bag of coffee with an inert gas such as nitrogen to expel any oxygen from the bag, as oxygen causes staling to occur. This type of packaging slows staling down the most, although once the bag is opened the staling process will start. Despite this being the most effective way to package coffee, it is not widely used due to the additional costs of equipment, process time and the inert gas.
Each brew is affected by the origin, preparation and roasting of the beans, which create its distinct flavour.